SAN JOSE, Calif.–A credit union here has purchased naming rights to this city’s venerable Municipal Stadium, home to the San Jose Giants minor league baseball team, as part of its own name change.
Alliance Credit Union has announced plans to change its name to Excite Credit Union effective Aug. 1. In conjunction with the name change, the credit union has entered into a three-year partnership that will change the name to Excite Ballpark.
It is the first such naming rights deal in the 77-year history of the facility.
San Jose Giants CEO Dan Orum and Excite Credit Union CEO Brian Dorcy made the announcement at the team’s FanFest event in advance of its season opener in Visalia, according to the San Jose Mercury News, which said the exact cost of the sponsorship was not revealed but that it is in the six-figure range.
Temporary banners were unveiled with the new name, which also was displayed on the scoreboard screen in center field. More signage will pop up as the season progresses, the Mercury News reported. According to the report, the concrete ballpark opened in 1942, a WPA project from the Roosevelt Administration, and has played host to a variety of San Jose baseball teams, including the Bees, the Missions and, for the past 32 years, the Giants.